First day of Winter Break ~

 Jordyn had Andrea over for a sleepover last night and this is what they are both doing on their first day of winter break!  Sleeping in Rules!  :)

Happy Winter Solstice!!!

Officially on vacation!!! Oatmeal cookie cocktail in hand, pajamas on and a cozy book by the fire! YES!!!!  Happy Winter Solstice everyone!!!

Holiday Dance at CLP ~

 Jordyn and Justin headed down to the holiday dance at CLP.  Justin enjoys chaperoning the dances and I think Jordyn likes having him there too.  He is a cool dad, after all!  Have fun sweetheart!  You look beautiful!

National Junior Honor Society ~

 Jordyn joined the National Junior Honor Society today, and Justin and I are so proud!  She was excited to be a part of this club, and after filling out a questionnaire and getting teacher signatures, she was accepted in and the induction ceremony was tonight.

 Each new member was handed a yellow rose to give to someone who has made a strong and positive influence in their life, and she presented it to me.  Thank you sweetheart!

 Each child stood up and made a speech about what NJHS is all about, and then every other child took turns lighting a candle.  Then they took the NJHS pledge.

 Congratulations Jordyn!  Your dad and I are excited to see where this journey takes you!!!  We love you!

Off to the ballet ~

 Last week my friend Debi gave me free tickets to the Nutcracker!  Jordyn and I had never been, so we were very excited!  The tickets were for two adults and two kids, so I asked Sharon and Andrea to join us.  Jordyn and I decided to head down early to enjoy lunch before the show, which was at 2.  We wanted to try out Lucile's, a cajun-creole restaurant, that served all kinds of great dishes!

 The place is pretty popular, so there was a 30 minute wait for a table.  The weather has been unusually gorgeous out, so we decided to wait out front with other folks for a table.  Naturally, I got a Cajun Mary to enjoy while we waited.  It originally had a shrimp on there too, but we ate that immediately! :)

 We were sat rather quickly and we enjoyed beignets while we looked at the menu!  They were covered with about 1/4 inch of powdered sugar, and we dove right in!

 Jordyn loved it and so did I!  I'm not much of a sweets person, and I hate donuts, but these were great! I love the ones at Cafe du Monde, so I was hoping these wouldn't disappoint and they did not!

 Then our food arrived!  I ordered the gumbo bowl along with a side of grits, and Jordyn ordered the mufaletta with red beans and rice!  YUM!!!

 Everything was so delicious and the entire staff was friendly and fun!  I will definitely be going back!  Jordyn wants to go back again too!  Maybe next time we'll try out the breakfast menu!  We walked over to the theatre after lunch, its right across the street, and took a few fun pics before we headed in...naturally!  Like I said, the weather was gorgeous so we didn't even need our coats!

 The show started and the stage, costumes and music were wonderful!  As were the performers...and speaking of performers, is that our friend Adam as the Godfather?!?  About 5 minutes in I realized that was him on the stage!  I knew he performed for the Lincoln Center, but I had no idea he would be in this show, so that was a nice surprise!  Well done Adam, you were terrific!

 They had a gorgeous selection of Nutcracker ornaments to shop in the lobby, so Jordyn picked one out for our tree and then we headed home!  It was an absolutely fabulous time!  Thanks soooo much for the tickets Debi!  It was a memorable day to be sure!

Hour of Code ~

Are you ready for the Hour of Code!?!   Well, this lady is!  Bring on the Cubelets, the Combat Code and all the fun games at Hour of Code!  I'm ready to teach these kids all about coding, and I won this t-shirt from the tech department for putting together a cool flyer about it!  See you in the halls!

 

Holiday Lunch with Friends ~

 With all the chaos of the holidays, we decided to get together and enjoy some relaxing "mom" time in town over lunch, margaritas (of course), and some shopping!  Jordyn and I designed a piece for the Mask exhibit, so I needed to drop that off at the MoA in Fort Collins, and since we were there, we enjoyed lunch at the Blue Agave Grill downstairs and also perused the Picasso/Dali exhibit they had displayed there.

 We rarely find time to do this, and after having such a nice time together, we vowed to plan these get togethers more often!  We shared lots of stories, laughs and good times, and we also decided we needed to go to New Orleans for my 50th birthday next year, so plans are in the works!

 There was an exhibit by a local artist with drawing, and embroidery on paper, and I wish I could remember their name, because I loved all these colorful pieces. 

 We walked around downtown, picking up a few stocking stuffers for the kids, but mostly we just walked around laughing and having fun! 

 It was a great day in town, and I'm so glad the weather held out for us!  What a nice little time out from all the holiday craziness!  Cheers!